10 Biggest Enemies Of Your Roof

We all have them – things that take us off our game and affect our performance. It might be an injury, a fear, or just bad time management. Your roof is no exception. It faces conditions every day that could diminish its expected lifespan. Take a look at the 10 biggest enemies of a roof.

ENEMY #1: MISSING OR TORN SHINGLES

Without its full complement of roof shingles in tip-top shape, your roof is unable to provide complete protection. Missing or torn shingles have a domino effect, causing adjacent shingles to lift up, tear, or rip off. Plus, shingle damage puts the interior of your home at risk for water damage and subsequent wood rot.

ENEMY #2: HIGH WINDS

High winds can do some pretty heavy damage to roofing materials, lifting up their edges and blowing water and other debris underneath. This compromises the integrity of your roof.

ENEMY #3: HAIL

Don’t you just cringe when you hear hail pounding on your rooftop? You can almost feel the dents being made in your shingles, metal flashing and ridges. Hail bruises and cracks shingles and pounds away at the granules of the roof covering protecting the underlayment. Hail damage leads to shingle failure, which eventually could result in roof water leaking into your home.

ENEMY #4: CONDENSATION

Condensation is mainly caused by improper attic ventilation, but it could lead to a breakdown in your roof as moisture decays the wood components of your roof structure.

ENEMY #5: SNOW AND ICE

However much snow fell on the ground is pretty much the amount of snow your roof is holding. If your shingles are damaged, your roof might not be able to support the weight of the snow, creating dangerous cave-in conditions. Other problems can occur as the snow begins to melt. If your gutters are not properly cleaned, debris could block water drainage, causing water to back up on your roof. This could create ice dams that lead to water penetrating into your home, or much worse, total roof collapse.

ENEMY #6: SUNSHINE

ENEMY #7: ALGAE AND MOSS

Both algae and moss are culprits of roof rot damage. They find a moist or damp spot and lay claim to those shingles, growing unattractive moss mounds or algae stains and retaining moisture that creates rot right down to the roof’s structure.

ENEMY #8: SHINGLE WEAR AND TEAR

The first place wear and tear hits your roof is its shingles. As they begin to wear out, they split or curl up and no longer perform as they should. The longer those damaged shingles are ignored, the greater the risk of interior water damage and structural rot to your roof.

ENEMY #9: FLASHING DETERIORATION

Flashing is what tightly seals a roofing system around vents, chimneys, skylights, or other protrusions atop your roof. As it deteriorates, flashing leaks occur, which could result in water dripping into your home and causing damage to insulation, ceilings, walls and electrical systems.

ENEMY #10: RAIN

Rain is only an enemy to your roof if it’s unable to properly flow off of it. Missing, torn, or worn shingles can cause rainwater to seep into your home, causing water damage and creating moist conditions for mildew growth.

PROTECTION AGAINST ROOFING ENEMIES

With weather-related roofing enemies, we have no control over their occurrence, but we do have the power to stop them from causing damage. The ball is also in our court when it comes to preventive action, such as roof repair to fix missing or torn shingles, attic ventilation improvements to prevent condensation, tree trimming to stop algae and moss growth, and roof replacement of worn roofing materials.

That’s why Maxx Roofing offers two types of roof inspections: a storm damage inspection to check for roof damage following a severe weather event and biannual roof inspections in early spring and late fall to check for roof wear and tear and gutter performance.

If you suspect your roof suffers from any of the enemies noted above, get in touch with Maxx Roofing and we’ll use our expertise to fight off anything that tries to undermine the proper performance of your roof.